Early in the pandemic, as in-person art fairs ground to halt, many art professionals proclaimed the financial, health and climate costs of shipping art and people around the planet were simply no longer sustainable. But predictions of a major reset have proved premature.
“Surprisingly, we haven’t given up as many fairs as we thought we would,” said David Leiber, a partner at the David Zwirner Gallery, which expects to participate in 17 art fairs in 2024. Although that’s down from a peak of 21 in 2019, it’s still brisk business. (Other galleries, like Pace and Lelong, are also only slightly below their highs in 2019.)
This year, the number of fairs worldwide is expected to reach 377, according to the Art Market 2023 report prepared by the economist Clare McAndrew. The number has climbed steadily since a deep drop to 133 in 2020, but it has not quite reached the high of 408 in 2019. Although improving, the numbers do indicate “that the pandemic may have had some lasting effects on the art fair infrastructure,” Dr. McAndrew found.
But, Mr. Leiber said of the gradual uptick: “People do like to travel again. They do like to look at art in person and come together.”
Indeed, in another report by Dr. McAndrew — the Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2023 — collectors with liquid assets of at least $1 million (known as high net worth individuals) attended on average four art fairs during the year and more than half made purchases at fairs.
“It seems to me, it’s business as usual — and then a little more,” said the California-based collector Komal Shah, who is focused on female artists and known for traveling widely to see works in person and cultivate relationships. “We’ve certainly rebounded.”
She said she intended to go to at least eight fairs in 2024, including two newcomers generating buzz: Frieze Seoul (a recent addition to the Frieze group) and Paris+ by Art Basel (part of the oldest fair franchise, which also includes Art Basel in Switzerland, Art Basel Miami Beach and Art Basel Hong Kong).
What makes an art fair rise or thrive is the whole environment and mix of ingredients in a city — including strong local artists who can be marketed internationally and active networks of collectors, galleries and cultural institutions that can collaborate on parallel programming. Good hotels and restaurants don’t hurt.
“The big fairs, Basel and Frieze, understand that algorithm,” said Mary Sabbatino, who leads Galerie Lelong’s New York branch, which expects to return next year to Paris+ and Frieze Seoul among a half dozen others.
Here is a cross-section of fairs around the globe in 2024.
ZONAMACO, Mexico City — Feb. 7-11
“ZONAMACO is a real celebration of Mexican culture and a way to dip into it, especially if you’re an out-of-towner,” said Sarah Levine, senior director at Pace Gallery, which is including ZONAMACO in its anticipated lineup of 14 fairs for 2024. Marking its 20th anniversary next year, ZONAMACO is the biggest fair in Latin America. More than 120 galleries participated last year, about half regionally based, drawing a strong audience from Mexico and the United States, including many from Texas and Florida and expats living in Oaxaca and Mérida, Mexico. Ms. Sabbatino, of Lelong, underscored the importance of such regional events as feeders to the art-fair ecosystem. “They develop collectors who can begin at a lower price point and support a local community,” she said.
Art Basel, Switzerland — June 13-16
“That’s a fair that I would never miss,” said Ms. Shah, the collector. One of the oldest, Art Basel started in 1970 in a small city with spectacular museums that last year drew 284 galleries from 36 countries and territories and 82,000 visitors. Dealers bring their absolute best material and can expect to do their strongest business, according to Mr. Leiber, of Zwirner. “People will make multiple trips to the fair, because that’s the main reason they’re in Basel,” he said. “They’re not there to spot Beyoncé.”
Frieze Seoul, Korea — Sept. 4-7
A new adventure on the art fair circuit, Frieze Seoul in its second edition drew some 70,000 visitors to 120 galleries, largely Korean (a mix of traditional and contemporary) alongside those from elsewhere in Asia and western powerhouses like Pace, Lehmann Maupin and Thaddaeus Ropac that have opened branches in the city. Ms. Levine, of Pace, said that the vast majority of clients were Korean but that she saw “tremendous curiosity from international collectors, for many people their first time to Korea.” Expect such tourism to grow as the fair matures.
The Armory Show, New York — Sept. 5-8
Begun in 1994 as the Gramercy International Art Fair, the Armory Show was acquired this year, along with EXPO Chicago, by the Frieze group. Both homegrown fairs, they will continue to operate under their existing brands and should stand to benefit from Frieze’s well-developed network of V.I.P. collectors and logistical support. New York’s biggest fair, the Armory Show hosted 51,000 attendees, who came to see fare from more than 225 galleries from some 35 countries last year, with a particular emphasis on Indigenous art. Ms. Shah, the collector, has often made discoveries here. “I like the Armory fair in that it brings surprises,” she said. “It’s not your standard list of galleries.”
Art X Lagos, Nigeria — Oct. 31-Nov. 3
Founded in 2016 and building on the fast-growing African art market, Art X Lagos hosted more than 40 artists and galleries from Africa and beyond and fostered conversations between continent-based and diasporic artists. “There was a strong sense of pride and excitement that a fair of this caliber is happening in sub-Saharan Africa and Nigeria, the giant of Africa,” said the independent curator Kemi Ilesanmi. The fair taps into the active gallery scene in Lagos and collector base in Nigeria and on the continent. Spotted this year were the Nigerian American artist Kehinde Wiley and the British Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare, whose G.A.S. Foundation hosted the closing party.
